Chapter 3: The Proof
The doors of the TARDIS swung open and the Doctor marched out. Rose jogged after him.
"So, what does that Master guy want with you?" she questioned.
"He wants me. Or my body anyway" he replied.
The fountains in front of the colossal temples sprayed fresh water up into the air. The Doctor sped on.
"Why does he want your body?" she pressed, running to keep up with his long strides.
"I don't want to either know or find out."
They reached the doors of the Taj Mahal. The Doctor, boldly, wrenched them open.
"Can I help you?" asked the woman at the desk.
"I'm here to see the…er…the, er…um, this will explain everything." He answered, holding up his faithful psychic paper.
The woman scrutinised the paper and nodded. The Doctor and Rose left and made for the stairs. Rose heard a ticking noise and was surprised to see a grandfather clock. The time, apparently, was quarter to twelve. The Doctor pointed to a staircase and they ascended.
After a short while, Rose heard the ticking again. She turned. There again was the grandfather clock. It was identical to the one downstairs but the time read quarter to nine. Puzzled, Rose followed the Doctor as he entered an empty room.
"Doctor, what was that clock doing there?" she asked.
"Didn't you see that the clock was always pointing to the direction we were going? The first one indicated that we should go up and along," He replied. "Now just watch."
"But-"
"Quiet!" he hissed.
Then, there, from the middle of the room, came the familiar sound of a TARDIS. The grandfather clock appeared.
The front of the clock swung open. Two figures emerged. One tall male, the other a shorter female.
"Ah, Doctor, so glad you could make it." Purred the man.
"Rose, this is the Master. The woman is the Rani." Said the Doctor.
"Hello, Doctor. I was just saying how I got to know your seventh incarnation very well." Said the Rani
"So you know what that freak, Boe, wanted to tell you?" the Master inquired.
"Yes, but this could all be fake. You could be holograms or something." The Doctor challenged.
"You want proof? Fine. Take the blonde and go to Crafe Tec Heydra. There are pictures, Doctor. See for yourself. The mountains. When you see them, contact us. Until next time, Time Lord." The Rani climbed back into their TARDIS, followed by the Master. A moment later it had gone.
The Doctor was back in the TARDIS, flicking switches and pressing buttons. He looked like he was wrestling with some mad energy inside him. Rose watched uncertainly. She didn't know what to say. The Central Time Vortex rose and fell. Eventually she stood up and forced herself to talk.
"Doctor?" she asked, "Doctor are you alright?"
His hands were shaking. She reached out and took them in hers.
"It can't be true." He said at last, "I was the only survivor. I saw."
Rose put an arm around him.
"My planet. It was burning. Everyone died. Except me." The Doctor put his head in his hands and began to sob uncontrollably. He stemmed the flow of tears. "Rose, I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to go home. Just for a while. Just until I get back."
She nodded and began to cry. They held each other.
The TARDIS stopped. Rose opened the door. She turned and waved to the Doctor. He raised an arm in farewell. She fought back the tears and stepped out. The next time she looked, the TARDIS had gone.
For how long he sat there, he did not know. The Doctor took out his Sonic Screwdriver and fiddled with it in his hands. Rose was gone. He stood up, went to the controls of the TARDIS and set coordinates for Crafe Tec Heydra.
The second it landed, the TARDIS' doors burst open. The Doctor sprinted out, brown coat billowing in the wind behind him. The mountain was twenty metres away. He reached it, and stared in disbelief. There, on the rock, were hieroglyphics of some ancient kind and pictures of an Invisible War, one army metal and one flesh. Then was a picture of an explosion and three people emerging from the smoke and rubble, one female and the other two male. Three Time Lords. It was true.
The Doctor was not alone.